The timing of action of artemisinin on the malaria parasite, plasmodium falciparum

• Main Author: Desa, Nurul Wahida Md
• Format: Monograph
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Sains Malaysia 2016
• Subjects: RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
• Online Access: http://eprints.usm.my/61339/1/NURUL%20WAHIDA%20MD%20DESA%20-%20e.pdf; http://eprints.usm.my/61339/

Malaria is one of the life-threatening diseases caused by Plasmodium species and currently treated by artemisinin and its derivatives from a class of endoperoxide antimalarial drugs. However, there is evidence that the malaria parasites are becoming more resistance to artemisinin. Therefore, studying the inhibitory activity of artemisinin enables several different inhibitory phenotypes to be identified. The objective of this study is to determine the timing of action of artemisinin on P. falciparum by determining the inhibitory effect of this drug on intraerythrocytic development using SYBR Green I fluorescence-based drug sensitivity and microscopic assays. Artemisinin inhibited 3D7 strain malaria parasites with an IC50 value of 17.05 ± 0.93 nM. Artemisinin appeared to have substantial activity against mid ring (-9 hour postinvasion), late trophozoite (~34 hour post-invasion) and late schizont (~44 hour postinvasion) stage parasites. Microscopic examination of the Giemsa-stained thin blood smears however revealed no major changes between artemisinin-treated and untreated cells. In conclusion, artemisinin was very effective at the early stage of the intraerythrocytic development of the parasite and in inhibiting the rupture of mature schizonts from releasing daughter merozoites